Heartbreak
by Ke14uk
Summary: Tara is having a bad night.
1. Chapter 1

It was a Friday night, nearing 11 p.m. Bobby was about to enter a bar downtown. It wasn't that kind of night out. He had received a phone call 30 minutes earlier from the owner asking him to come and get one of his mates who was having a bad night. Until then, he had been at home, with a take away, watching TV. Another boring Friday evening.

When he had heard the description of this friend, Bobby had been very surprised. Not at all who he expected. Not that he knew anyone who indulged in drinking themselves into oblivion in bars, but as far as he knew, that one was a first.

So, as he was approaching the bar, he felt curious and worried at the same time. According to what the bartender had told him over the phone, she had been drinking cocktails like they were lemonades for the past 2 hours. She was drinking alone and did not stand any company. That had to be bad.

The bar was very busy that night but the bartender saw him immediately when he walked in and he tilted his head to his left.

"She hasn't moved since she has arrived. At first, I thought she was waiting for the rest of you, you know, the group you usually are with. But she told me that it was just her tonight. She ordered a drink and told me to keep them coming. I tried to make her talk, you know, but she only wanted to drink, nothing else. A couple of guys approached her but whatever she said to them was very effective because they went away immediately. It's just her and her drinks. I had your card in the office so I called you."

"Thanks mate. Let's see if I have more luck than you!"

xoxoxoxo -

Heartbroken. It was the first word that came to Bobby when he saw her.

She was sitting at the corner of the bar, her handbag by her side, her hands nursing a glass half empty, her eyes looking nowhere in particular.

She did not move when Bobby sat next to her. There was no sign that she registered his presence.

"Hi Tara"

Still no reaction.

Bobby moved his hand and touched her shoulder. She moved away from him so brusquely that she nearly fell off her stall. Bobby jumped off his seat to settle her back.

"Hey there. It's OK Tara. It's only me" he said as he made sure she was safely back on her seat.

"Leave me alone" she finally said in a very low, tired voice.

"Tara, it's me. It's Bobby."

"Leave me alone" she repeated, still the same tone of voice, still not looking at him.

He was really worried now. This was not the Tara he knew. What on Earth could have happened that would make her behave like this? He had to find out. There was no way he was just going to get her out of this place without knowing why she got there in the first place.

"Tell me what's wrong. This is not you. You don't go to bars to drink on your own."

"Don't do this" said Tara.

"Don't do what?" he asked. She usually made long sentences with long words he did not always understand, especially when she was talking about computer stuff, but all she had given him so far were just few words. And she would not look at him. And she was keeping him at a distance. Bad, bad, bad….

"Pretend you care. Just go back home, Bobby. I don't want your help."

"Pretend I care?" he said, astonished not only by the fact that she was saying this, but also by the hurt he felt at hearing her saying that. "Where's that coming from?"

Tara turned and for the first time looked at him. Not straight in the eyes because it took a moment for all his heads to stop moving and she realized that moving was not a good idea. But she forced herself to focus on him. Even fussy, the guy was cute. Did not matter anyway, she was done with men.

Once he had only one head, she started talking.

"I'm just here to drink that's all. I don't need anyone to babysit me. Go home."

"Why come here then? Why not stay at home and drink there? Or at least go to a bar where nobody knows you. No one would have known."

Tara opened her mouth but could not find an answer. His question seemed too reasonable for her present situation, and she had no idea how to reply.

"People come to drink in bars" said Bobby, "because drinking at home on your own is too depressing. In bars, you can find someone to talk to and maybe, if you're in luck, his reason for drinking will be more depressing than yours." Tara would not talk. He started to wonder if she was even listening to him. Running away from your problems were never a solution, he knew that. And he knew Tara knew that at some level. He did not want to do it, but he knew he had to. He had to push her. If she fell, he'd catch her. "Jack told me that you were going away for the week-end with Stanley, so I take it you guys broke up."

The hurt on Tara's face said it all. She closed her eyes for a second and then went back to her drink. She took a sip. She knew she could not dismiss Bobby as easily as she had done with the few men who had tried to talk to her tonight. And if she knew him well –even as drunk as she was, she thought she did- he was not going to back off. She did not want his pity, and that was exactly where this was going.

"Whatever it is Tara, it is not worth your wellbeing and your health."

"What is it worth then?" she asked him, still in a low voice, but Bobby could hear her anger. "Just tell me Bobby, what is all this worth? You start by trying to make your parents proud of you, then you're thrown into adulthood without a clue as to how everything works. You have to find a job that gets you money, doesn't matter if you like it as long as your back account is full. You have to find someone to share this mascarade with, preferably someone of the opposite sex because God forbid you embarrass your parents and family for being different. You get married, have a couple of kids, then get divorced because your life is so boring it's the only way to make it interesting again. So tell me, Bobby, what's the point?"

That was the kind of useless talk that never led anywhere. It wasn't the problem. So Bobby brought her back to what hurt.

"What happened with Stanley?"

That name again! Why wouldn't he drop it? Why couldn't he just follow her lead and talk about nothing? Or even better, leave? _Because that is not Bobby_, a voice told her. _Bobby always faces reality._ He wasn't going to back off, and he wasn't going anywhere.

"I broke up with him."

"You did?" He was surprised. He thought all her rambling was about her not being good enough. "Why?"

"Apparently, I was the only one who considered being in a monogamous relationship."

He had not seen this one coming. And apparently, judging by her state tonight, neither had she.

"Oh Tara, I'm sorry. I know it's tough."

"Been there, hey?"

"Yes."

They had never really had personal conversations, except that time when they had kissed, but it was a different story. She thought she was drunk enough tonight not to think or feel anything, but his presence at her side was changing that. She was starting to feel like talking.

"How did you find out?"

Bobby thought for a moment. It wasn't something he liked to think about, but it was also in his past. It still was a bad memory though.

"A friend told me. When I confronted her, she admitted it. Said it was a mistake and that she was going to break it up. But it was too late. The damage was done, and the trust was gone."

"I win! I found them in bed together!"

Tara broke down in tears. That was why she had come to the bar tonight, for the alcohol to stop her from feeling anything. She did not want to feel, or to remember. The two of them together in a bed she had spent so many nights in with him.

It took Bobby a few seconds to process what Tara had said. It was one thing to find out your partner was cheating on you; it was a totally different one to actually find out in person and in action, so to speak. No wonder Tara was drinking! She did not have to imagine them, she knew with whom, and what they looked like together.

Bobby rose from his stall and took her in his arms. He put his hand on her neck and brought her head to rest on his chest, his other arm around her shoulders. He held her for as long as she needed him.

She hanged on to his jacket for dear life. The hurt was so strong she could feel all her body break up under the feeling.

"Why?"

He could hear her asking this question over and over again, and he knew he could not comfort her. There was no answer to that question, except that Stanley was a mistake of nature and if he ever saw him again, he would give him a piece of his mind.

But this was not going to help Tara right now.

He waited till she stopped crying and her breathing was a bit more settled. When he released her from the hug, he kissed her forehead and made sure she was sitting properly on the stall, not about to fall. Then he saw two cups of coffee in front of them. The cocktail glass had disappeared. He looked at the other side of the bar, and nodded his thanks to the bartender. He brought the cups closer to them.

"It might not be what you want, but it will do you good."

"Can't be worse than your morning coffee."

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with a strong cup of coffee in the morning."

"Agreed. As long as it is drinkable."

"You know nothing about coffee."

She smiled a little.

"I just don't know what to do," said Tara after a moment. "What's wrong with me? I'm in my thirties and I'm still single. When I tell people I work for the FBI, they behave as if I was going to arrest them for whatever pity crime they think they've ever committed. That is when I don't come across guys who are more interested in how I can use handcuffs! If I'm not the problem, then men have to be the problem."

Tara looked really serious as she said that, but Bobby could not help smiling when she mentioned the handcuffs. He had had that kind of encounters with women. And, let's be honest, some had led to good memories… But now was not the right time for that kind of thoughts. He was here for Tara, and he felt like he had to make her remember that not all men were like Stanley.

"Some men, please. Don't put us all in the same basket. And FYI, you ladies are not easy to understand either" Bobby said as he was bringing his cup of coffee to his lips.

"Maybe that's where I got it all wrong." Tara continued as if he had not talked. "Maybe I should be a lesbian." Bobby spitted his coffee and looked at her in shock. "There might be a chance I actually get it right."

She seemed to be thinking real hard about that, as if she was seriously considering the option. He knew this wasn't the right thing to do, but Bobby could not resist. Just out of curiosity, he needed to see where this conversation was going.

"Well, as a man who likes women, I can tell you that dating a woman is great. And the sex as well."

"Well, I wasn't impressed. Damn, I can't even be a lesbian! I prefer to have a man in my bed. As long as he knows what to do with the equipment that is."

"Wow, wow, wow, slow down there, Sheila. You've done it with a woman?"

"Uni. That's what it's for, right? Experimentation? So there you go."

"How was it?" he dared ask, not believing he was having this conversation with her. She might make him pay tomorrow, but right now, he just could not help himself.

"Well, I didn't have much experience at the time to compare. It was nice, I guess. But I must say, I've had much better since. Damn! I'm definitely straight."

"You're funny when you're drunk, you know."

"No, I don't know. Nobody told me that before. Or if they did, I don't remember. I never remember. I only have a splitting headache the day after."

Well, I'll remember for the both of us, thought Bobby. She had the same look right now as when she is deep in thought, trying to break into whatever system was resisting her. Bobby could not help but smile. True, his friend was not in a good place right now, she was in pain, so much pain actually that she had done something that was very out of character for her. But he had a chance to see a side of her that he did not know existed and would probably never see again. She was funny when she was drunk. But she was also in need of care and support, and he wanted to take her to a place where she would feel safe, a place where alcohol was not the answer to her problem, a place where she would be able to face the situation and make decisions about how she wanted to get the control of her life back.

"Look, I'll make you a deal. You agree to let me take you home now, and I won't tell a soul about tonight" Tara was still thinking very hard. "And what you do and say when you're drunk." And he meant it. Tonight was just between the two of them.

"Deal! But there's a problem."

"What?"

"I'm not feeling too good."

"Toilets?"

"Yep. And quick."

Bobby got her to the ladies just in time. He gave her some privacy but remained close by, just in case. When Tara got out, she did not look too good. He was probably going to have to stop a few times on the way home.

"Feeling up for the drive?"

Tara gave him a killer look. Funny drunk Tara was gone. Bobby placed his arm around her waist, ignoring the smell of alcohol and vomit that was coming from her and guided her out of the bar.

"Come on, you'll feel better in your bed."

They walked slowly towards their seats. Bobby picked up her handbag from the counter and then directed her to the door. As they came past the bartender, Bobby rose in hand in thanks and then they were out of the bar.

xoxoxoxo -

Bobby had taken a taxi to come to the bar. He had planned on her car being not far so that he could drive her back home. He would advise what to do with himself depending on how she was.

He found her keys in her bag and her car in the carpark next to the bar. He installed Tara in the passenger seat, buckled her seat belt and closed the door as gently and quietly as he could. Once he was sat in the driver seat, he adjusted the seat and then turned on the engine. He heard Tara groaning. She had her eyes closed, head resting against the window.

"Tell me if you need me to stop, OK?"

She groaned something that sounded like "OK" and Bobby started driving. Everything went well for about 10 minutes. Then suddenly Tara grabbed his arm and squeezed it.

"What? Want me to stop?"

She squeezed his arm again and he parked the car right away. Tara had just the time to open the door and she was sick again. Bobby grabbed some tissues he found stacked in the door. When he thought Tara was done, at least for the time being, he put one hand on her back and gently tapped her left arm that was keeping the door open.

"Take this Tara."

She took the tissues and muttered some thanks. Once she had cleaned herself, she sat back and closed the door.

"I will never drink again in my whole life."

Right, Bobby thought, as if I've never heard this one before.

Once he was sure Tara was back in her seat, he started the car again. He looked at her before driving. Her head was resting on the headset, her eyes were closed, her face was frowned. Her right hand was holding the door armrest, the left grasped the seat next to her thigh. She really looked in pain.

Tara needed some rest. But was her condo the best place for this? If he took her there, you could be sure that Stanley would either be waiting for here or calling her all the time. Tara's chances for a rest would be close to zero. Dismissing taking her home, Bobby fixed his attention back to the traffic and drove to his place.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the comments and all the alerts. It's the first time I have the courage to publish a story, so your interest is very encouraging.**

**Here is the second chapter. ****I hope you enjoy it. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

When Tara woke up, the first thing she noticed was the disgusting taste in her mouth. She moved slightly. Bad idea. It was as if the headache exploded in her skull. What the heck?

It all came back in a rush. Her trip to Stanley's condo to pick up a top she had left there and wanted to take with her for their week-end; the noise that came from the bedroom, which was weird since Stanley was on his way back to DC and was going to meet her directly at her place; her shock when she opened the door and found them in bed, him naked in his bed, very much in DC, and her naked on top of him.

The pain, the hurt. It was all back now.

She started crying, her whole body seemed to wake up with her sobs. The pain was in every single one of her cells. There was no escaping it. She felt so miserable, so stupid. She curled up, buried her face in the pillow and cried herself to sleep.

xoxoxoxo

She woke up again a few hours later but kept her eyes closed. She was not ready to face reality just yet. She had no reason to hurry and face the real world. She needed to sort out her next move and doing that in bed was as good a place as any.

Speaking of bed, she started to sense a strange feeling develop. The bed felt different. As in not hers. Panic aroused and she was in a sitting position in a second, eyes wide open, heart pounding, head hurting from the hangover and the effort of working at full speed.

Where on Earth was she?

There wasn't much light coming through the closed curtains but enough to confirm her suspicions.

This was not her bed. This was not her bedroom.

And she had no idea whose it was.

She looked around her. First thing: she was alone. Good thing? Well, she had not done anything stupid like having sex with a complete stranger since she was there alone and... still dressed. Yep, top and bottom were still covered in original jeans and…. Hold on. The tee-shirt was not hers. And it was too big for her. She held the round neck of the shirt ahead of her and looked at her body. Bra still on. Veeerry good point.

So what had happened? Where was she?

Tara tried to remember what had happened the previous night. She fought the nausea when she thought of them two in bed and forced her mind to move forward in time. She vaguely remembered driving. How she had managed not to get a ticket or have an accident was beyond her. But then she recalled stopping somewhere and crying. She was trembling so badly that, once she had calmed down a bit, she had decided that driving was not an option. She could not focus. So she had gotten out of the car and locked it. She was going to take a taxi home and would pick her car later on. She had looked around and realised that she was not far from work. She had recognized the street and located a bar where she had been with the team a few times, to celebrate birthdays or ends of big cases. Tara could not remember making the decision to go there, but she clearly remembered entering the bar, sitting down on a stall at the counter and ordering a drink. And that was about it. Nothing more.

"You stupid, stupid woman!" she thought. "You're an FBI agent and you got drunk at a bar! So drunk that you don't remember what happened, how you left the bar, with whom, how you got where you are now and where you are now! You stupid imbecile!"

She buried her face in her hands. She had to decide on a plan of action. She had to leave this place with as much dignity as she could gather, which wasn't much. She had to go home. With some luck, she would never see the owner of this place ever again. She just had to swallow her pride, get out of this room, say thanks, and go home. That was what she wanted to do. Once at home, she could feel sorry for herself as much as she wanted.

She took a few deep breaths and got out of bed. Her head and stomach were still aching badly, her legs shacking but she gathered her will and once she calmed down, she looked around her. Some light was coming into the room from the floor.

"Good, I've found the door" she thought.

Tara put her hand on the knob, closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Once she was ready, well at least as ready as she'd ever be, she opened the door.

xoxoxoxo

The attack was terrible. Too much light. Too much bright light. It hurt Tara's eyes so bad she thought she was going to be blind for life. And her head was pounding terribly. She held on to the doorframe to steady herself, head against the wood.

"Hey! You're up!"

That voice. She knew that voice. But she did not dare look up. "Please make it a dream" she thought. "Or a nightmare. Whichever, but not reality".

"You want me to close the curtains a bit?"

Did he have to be so nice?

She heard footsteps, then curtains being closed and felt the intensity of the light diminishing. She opened her eyes very slowly.

Bobby was by her side by the time she felt confident enough to release her hold on the doorframe and to look around.

"You want to have something to eat or a shower first?" Bobby asked as he placed his hand on her back, just below her neck.

The contact felt like a burn sensation to Tara and she could not help but move away from him.

"It's OK Tara, it's only me. You're at my place" he said in a soft voice.

Tara was fighting her shame. This was worse than she thought. She was not with a stranger, she was at a work colleague's home!

"Let's go to the sofa and I'll bring you something to drink, OK?"

Tara nodded slightly and walked slowly towards the sofa, Bobby following her closely. Once she was sat as comfortable as possible, Bobby left for the kitchen.

When he came back with the glass of water, he sat next to her and gave her the drink.

"Thanks" she said in a low voice.

"You're welcome. Do you remember anything about last night?" he asked after she had taken a sip. "At the bar I mean."

"No."

"Do you want me to tell you?"

Tara nodded slowly.

So Bobby told her about the phone call he had received from the bartender, how he found her at the counter. He told her about Angry Tara, Funny Tara, Sick Tara, Pissed off Tara and Sick Tara again.

"On the way to your place, I thought he would probably be there waiting for you or calling you all the time. You would not have much rest. So I brought you here. He won't look for you at my place. I laid you down on the sofa but you kept on moving and nearly fell twice so I put you in my bed."

"Thanks" said Tara after a moment. "I'm sorry for bothering you and ruining your evening."

"Think nothing of it. That's what friends are for."

Silence fell on them. Bobby waited to see if Tara was going to talk but it didn't look that way. She had kept her eyes on her drink all the time and he had no way of knowing what was going through her mind. It was probably a very difficult situation for her to realize what had happened last night and that he was involved in it in some way. He knew that if she had wanted to call someone from work for help, it would have been the girls, Sue and Lucy, not him. He wasn't sure he was the right person to help her just now, they were not that close. She probably would want to leave his place as soon as possible, hoping that he would be discreet about the whole ordeal.

So he was surprised when she eventually opened up to him.

"I don't usually do this you know, drink alone in bars. I just wanted to forget the picture of the two of them together. I knew Stanley wasn't the one, but I never thought it would turn out like this."

"You don't have to justify yourself to me Tara. Breaking up is never easy. You have to give yourself some time."

"I was so shocked" Tara continued. "I just left the flat, ran to my car and drove away. It's a miracle I had no accident. I don't even remember driving. God, Bobby, I could have killed someone!"

"Hey Tara" said Bobby. She was shacking so much, he took the glass off her hands and put it on his low table. Then he took her face in his hands and turned her to him. "Don't do this to yourself. You did not hurt anyone. You did the right thing, you stopped the car. Right now, you have to allow yourself some time to process what happened, OK?"

Tara was crying. Bobby felt very inadequate. He was not used to having a crying woman on his sofa. He was worried of saying the wrong thing.

"I feel so stupid" said Tara as the tears were falling. "I feel like I'm the one who's done something wrong. I only went to his place because I had left something there that I wanted for the week-end. We were supposed to go away just the two of us. I can't help thinking that if it wasn't for this damn tee-shirt I wanted to take with me, I would never have known. Was it the first time? Was he going away with me as planned? Was he going to break up with me during the week-end? Before? After? Or would he have kept on going like that? How long has it been going on? How many women had there been? Am I really this blind?"

"Tara, stop!" the severity in Bobby's voice forced Tara to look at him. "You listen to me, Tara. You did nothing wrong. He's the one who should feel guilty. You gave him your love and your trust and he did not respect it. The problem is with Stanley, not you."

"But…"

"No buts, Tara," interrupted Bobby. "The one who cheats never has a good excuse."

"It's a bit more complicated than that."

"I don't see how."

"I know her" she said very slowly. "I introduced them."

The douchebag! He slept with one of her friends! Could he fall any lower?

"Then she isn't worth your friendship. Forget about her."

"That's going to be difficult."

"Why?"

"She's my sister."

When Tara broke in tears, Bobby brought her to him and held her as close to him as he could. So many things were wrong in this story. If only he could take her pain away, or fast forward time until she had recovered from this mess and moved on. Anything rather than letting Tara face an unbearable reality.

He held her for as long as she needed, stroke her hair, her back. He could not do anything to help her and it was killing him.

If he ever saw Stanley again, he was going to hurt him badly.

xoxoxoxo

When Tara eventually calmed down, Bobby got up to go to the kitchen and make some sandwiches. Tara asked him for some headache tablets.

"Thank you" she said when he returned with the medecine and a plate with food on it.

"You're welcome" said Bobby. "Help yourself with some sandwiches. They're the extent of my culinary expertise and they are also usually good, mainly because there's no real cooking involved so I can't burn anything."

Tara smiled. "You don't have to do all this Bobby. You've done a lot already."

"I have to eat too you know" he said as he grabbed a sandwich and bit into it. "So don't worry, it's not a problem."

Suddenly, Tara realized she had a time problem.

"Since when do you have sandwiches for breakfast?" she asked.

Bobby swallowed before replying to her.

"I don't. This is lunch. Oh! You might prefer toasts?"

"What time is it?" she asked, totally ignoring his question.

"It's nearly 2 p.m."

"Oh my God, Bobby! 2 o'clock in the afternoon? Why didn't you wake me up? I can't believe I've slept for so long! What time was it when you brought me here?"

Bobby felt like he had done something wrong but could not really pinpoint what. Tara had finally calmed down and suddenly, just like that, she was in panic mode. What was going on?

"It was a bit after midnight when we got here I think."

"Midnight? You mean I've slept around the clock?"

"Yes. You were tired, you needed to sleep so I left you alone. Why should have I woken you up?"

"Because you might have better things to do with your day than wait for me to come out of my drunken stupor! Oh my God. I remember Jack saying you guys were meeting up for lunch."

"Tara, it's OK. That's for Sunday. Tomorrow. Jack had something planned for today. Really, it's fine."

He could see that Tara was struggling to regain her composure. He wasn't sure if he should go to her again or give her some space. He wasn't sure what the right action was. But he knew he did not want Tara to feel embarrassed with him.

So he decided to make his view on the situation clear. He went to her and sat down on the low table in front of her. She had put her glass down and her head was in her hands again.

"Tara, look at me" he said quietly. But Tara would not move. She was crying again. Without thinking about what he was doing, he placed his hands on the sides of her knees. Tara kept her hands on her face but her crying seemed to reduce.

"I know how hard breakups can be. And I've indulged in a few drunken nights because of them. So I know how the morning after feels. And from what you've told me, this is not your first hangover." Tara chucked. So she was listening. Good. He continued. "I'm glad I was there for you yesterday. You're my friend, if there's anything I can do to help, I will. But I can't take your pain away. I can, however, let you sleep as much as you need, because I know you're going to need all your strength to face reality when you wake up. So believe me when I say, it's not a problem."

Tara lowered her hands to rest them on her legs and raised her head to look at Bobby. He moved back a little, suddenly worried he might have gone a bit too far.

"I'm not used to relying on someone. I usually deal with everything on my own. So I feel like a burden to you. I'm sorry…"

"No Tara, don't. You are not a burden. You can stay here as long as you want. I mean it."

"Thank you." Tara took a deep breath and tried to control the tears that she could feel coming up again. "It's just so hard. I've had breakups before so I should be able to overcome this one as well but…" The tears were falling again. "I feel… so helpless. It's like… what's the point? It hurts so much." The tears overwhelmed her and she could not speak anymore. Bobby felt an urge to remove the tears but somehow his hands refused to move away from their place on her knees.

"It's not the same Tara, not this time" he said in a low voice.

"It's a breakup, ….just….like… others" she managed to mutter.

"I mean with your sister."

The tears won over again. Bobby sat by her side again and took her in his arms. He didn't know what to make of the fact that she had walked on Stanley in bed with her sister, but it seemed that Tara was not able to deal with it either. She would get over him eventually, but her? How could you forgive your sibling for such a betrayal? He was a lonely child so he could not even begin to imagine how that felt, and to be honest, he did not want to. He could see the effects though.

What was she going to tell her parents? Would she tell them? Or was it something you could fix without involving them? Surely parents would suspect something was wrong.

"I don't…. know….what...to…do" Tara said between cries. "How…could…she?"

Bobby remained silent. He had no answer to that and he doubted she would ever find a suitable one. This was going to be the most difficult thing to overcome.

He held her closed, gently striking her hair. He let her cry and waited till she had no more tears.

It took a while.

xoxoxoxo

Tara's breathing was still a bit laboured but it calmed down. Bobby started wondering if she was falling asleep but then she started to extricate herself from his arms. She removed the last tears from her cheeks and saw that his tee-shirt was wet.

"Sorry. Seems I've ruined your shirt" she said, using the excuse of cleaning her face so she did not have to look at him.

"It has seen worse, believe me" he said quietly.

"Speaking of which, what happened to my blouse?"

"Oh!" said Bobby. He suddenly felt like a little boy who had been caught up doing something naughty. "It was…well, dirty, you know. I didn't think it would be a good idea for you to wake up with that smell around you so I gave you one of my tee-shirts to sleep in and washed your blouse." He had been saying the last bit very slowly, embarrassed by what it implied.

Tara gave him a dubious look.

"OK, yes, I changed your top. You were out when it happened but I promise I did not look! The room was dark, I did not see anything!"

He was really worried about her reaction. She was so volatile; he didn't know which Tara was going to show up now.

She laughed. The way he told the story and the look on his face made him look like a child trying very hard to justify his actions to prove his good intentions and avoid punishment.

"Sorry, Bobby" she said with a smile. "I should have known that if you can be a knight in shining armour, you can also be a gentleman. Thank you."

Bobby released the breath he was holding.

"It's OK. I've never been called a gentleman and a knight in shining armour in the same sentence. It's really nice."

She put her hands on his.

"No Bobby, thank you" she insisted. "I really don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for you. It scares me to think what could have happened if the bartender had not called you."

"Oh, I can think of something."

"You can?"

"Yeah. He could have called Myles, think about that."

Tara laughed again. Yes, things would have been very different if their colleague had been the one to come to her rescue. Not that he would not have helped her somehow. She knew that below this superior appearance he liked to show was a very caring person. He just did not like to let people see it for some reasons.

"Would it be OK with you Bobby if I took a shower before I go home?"

"Of course. I can't offer a change of clothes I'm afraid, but your blouse is clean, let me grab it for you."

"Thank you."

Bobby got up and left the room. She was alone for a minute or two. The smile on her face disappeared. Laughing had been good for the time it lasted. But once its effects cooled off, the emptiness took over again. She had to go home. She could not hide here indefinitely. Stanley was not the problem. The relationship at stake here was the one with her sister. She had no idea how she was going to handle it, what she was going to do. But if Stanley was waiting for her at home, then she'll just hand him over his stuff and ask him to return hers. And that would be it.

Kate, however, was another story.


End file.
